ptc

The Parents Television Council is at it again, and this time 'Glee' is in their crosshairs.

The watchdog group is targeting 'Glee' (Tuesdays, 8PM ET on Fox) over the Tues., Nov. 8 episode, 'The First Time.' The episode features several teen characters having sex for the first time. Naturally, this has riled the PTC.

According to EW, the PTC is not taking issue with the genders of the couples having sex, just the content matter.

Will it soon be time to bid farewell to 'The Playboy Club?' Yes, if the members of The Parents Television Council (PTC) have their way.

The PTC has been campaigning against NBC's new drama series for months, urging advertisers and NBC affiliates to drop it.

Now the PTC claims that seven advertisers have already withdrawn from 'The Playboy Club' and is calling for the series -- which the pressure group says "objectifies and degrades women" -- to be cancelled immediately.

Asking members to put pressure on the remaining sponsors of the show (Capital One, Samsung and Chrysler), PTC President Tim Winters said the group wants to know "if their corporate values are in step with those of the Playboy brand."

Paula Abdul wasn't the only person 'The X Factor' flasher made sick during the singing talent show's premiere. Fox's decision to air Geo Godley's bottomless routine, albeit with a blurred X over his privates, has now drawn the ire of the Parents Television Council.

According to TMZ, the advocacy group announced it has filed a formal indecency complaint with the FCC against the show.

"The prolonged, previously videotaped footage of a contestant dancing nude on the 'X Factor' stage represents a conscious decision by the producers – with the approval of the network's broadcast standards department -- to intentionally air this content in front of millions of families during hours when they knew full well that children would be watching," PTC President Tim Winters said in a statement.

The Parents Television Council has a new target in its sights: NBC's 'The Playboy Club.' It was only a matter of time before the conservative watchdog group targeted the new fall series, which is set in Chicago's Playboy club in the 1960s.

According to Broadcasting & Cable, the PTC sent letters to all NBC affiliates, urging them not to air the new crime drama.

In the letter, PTC president Tim Winter told stations the show was attempting to put a layer of class on the porn industry. If the stations did air the show, Winter warned the PTC would urge its members to file complaints with the FCC.

The Parents Television Council is accusing MTV's 'Skins' of featuring child pornography, called it "dangerous" and tabulated more than 40 instances of drug, sex and alcohol abuse in only the first episode.

To which teens say: Thanks for the heads-up!

From Funny or Die comes a video of teens who are grateful for the PTC's watchdog campaign, which has just spread the word about the potentially-corrupting show. The more the PTC whines about nudity and drug use, the more these teens can't wait to indulge ... in the show.

Yesterday, the Parents Television Council declared MTV's 'Skins' to be "the most dangerous show for teens."

TV Squad caught up with the young actors, who were already well aware of their newfound "dangerous" label. "In a good way we're dangerous -- dangerously in love," joked Ron Mustafaa, who plays Abbud. "We're dangerously sexy," added Danny Flaherty (Stanley).

In all seriousness, though, the teenage cast was very insistent that their hard-partying onscreen alter-egos can provide some real lessons for their peers and parents alike. "It would even be a great conversation opener," Flaherty said.

Besides, the show hasn't even premiered yet. "These parents haven't seen the show as far as I know, they've seen previews," said Rachel Thevenard (Michelle). Indeed, PTC President Tim Winter's complaint took special note of the marketing campaign, saying it "makes light of lying to parents and participating in all manner of harmful, irresponsible, illegal and adult-themed behavior."

Judge for yourself when 'Skins' premieres on Monday night at 10PM on MTV. In the meantime, watch our video to see what else the cast had to say about the PTC's statement.

Notorious buzz-killers the Parents Television Council are at it again, calling MTV's new 'Skins,' which debuts on Monday, "the most dangerous show for teens."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, PTC President Tim Winter said in a statement, "The marketing campaign itself makes light of lying to parents and participating in all manner of harmful, irresponsible, illegal and adult-themed behavior. The trailers we have seen thus far make sexual objects of almost every single one of its characters and asks not only for viewers to approve, but to actively participate by posting their own secret stories."

MTV probably isn't too worried about it, though, considering their ads seem to have been designed to incite controversy anyway.

• J.J. Abrams revealed that 'Alcatraz' is set to begin shooting next week. The Fox pilot, which stars Jorge Garcia, will film starting Jan. 19. [THR]

• Syfy's new series 'School Spirits' will examine haunted high schools and colleges across the country. The Mark Burnett-produced show is currently in development and will feature interviews with students, staff and faculty who have witnessed paranormal occurrences. [Variety]

• Showtime is in talks to develop a docuseries about the San Francisco Giants. The Mike Tollin-produced show would follow the World Series-winning baseball team. [Entertainment Weekly]

The Parents Television Council has added FOX's Family Guy to the list of shows it's going after.

They are filing another complaint with the FCC, this time over last Sunday's episode of the cartoon that featured (from the PTC complaint) "bestiality, orgies, and babies eating sperm." By sheer coincidence, this was the same plot as the latest episode of The Hills.

Actually, I was kinda shocked by the episode myself, but I'm always shocked by episodes of Family Guy. That's what makes it funny.

According to a study conducted by the Parents Television Council, marital sex is portrayed as boring on television while extra-marital sex is portrayed as "glamorous" and "exciting". The study then goes on to say that those portrayals are wrong, if not downright inaccurate.

"Everybody is having sex on TV except for married couples," PTC president Tim Winter said.

Perhaps television could satisfy the PTC's claims if married couples are shown having wild, animal sex on prime-time. They also seem to forgot that in certain states, gay couples can marry. If gay, married couples are having sex on prime-time television, would that alleviate the concerns of the PTC? I suspect not.

I find any study by the PTC to be somewhat suspect (I recall their rather skewed attack against pro-wrestling a few years ago). While their obvious agenda is to protect children from smut, I believe that their more subtle and honest agenda is to create a social pyramid with the PTC on top.

The Parents Television Council has filed a complaint with the FCC about the February 15 episode of Las Vegas that showed "shadowy naked women" streaking through the casino. Here's the video and the complaint filed by the PTC. You really can't see much in the video. It seems to be blurred a bit here and there. Is that the way it was shown on the network or is the video edited? This particular episode of the show ran Friday at 9pm and not usual 10pm slot. The show has recently been canceled by NBC, so this is probably going to be one of those times where we here about the ruling five years after the show is off the air (a la NYPD Blue). The PTC has also filed a complaint against CBS about Dexter.

I have no idea if the PTC has a legit beef here (though I see nothing wrong), but I do know that Shadowy Naked Women would make a great TV show.

For a group that has the word "television" in their name, they sure do seem to have a lot of problems with it.

The Parents Television Council is calling for advertisers to boycott Dexter, saying that CBS didn't do enough editing of the show when they broadcast the Showtime drama on its own network last Sunday night. The PTC says that CBS broke their promise when they said they were going to edit the show to network standards and that "depictions of violence were barely altered from the Showtime network original format."

(S05E15) After better than a month off, finally a new episode of Family Guy. I'm not sure I understand the thinking behind the scheduling of the show this year, but the list of behaviors from the networks that I don't understand is a long one. So, we'll take what we can get. Whatever the reasoning, it was nice to have the Griffins back with a fresh adventure.

I think I probably came into this one with my expectations set a little high. Those previews that revealed the family packing up and taking a trip put the thought in the back of my mind that this could be one of those classic episodes. It called to mind the season three episode "To Love and Die in Dixie." Unfortunately, now having seen it, it wasn't a classic.

A while back it was reported that NBC was editing out the religious aspects of the Veggie Tales cartoons they were airing on Saturday mornings. But now, Time's James Poniewozik reports that the network has had a change of heart and will actually put the religious themes back into the shows. The Parents Television Council broke the news earlier this week.

Like Poniewozik, I'm not a fan of the PTC (I think some of their ideas are dangerous), but I agree that NBC is doing the right thing here. I mean, I'm not a big fan of editing or censorship, no matter what side of the political or social spectrum you fall on, and I thought it was bizarre when it was revealed that NBC was taking out the religious aspects of the episodes. I've never seen the show, but when they took the religion out, what was left? Was it just a bunch of vegetables running around?

Oh, puh-lease. The Parent Television Council, a group that has a stick up its collective ass, has made a formal complaint to the FCC about last week's Emmy telecast. It wasn't the plane crash skit that ignited their anger, it was a comment by winner Helen Mirren as she accepted her Emmy for Best Actress in HBO's Elizabeth I. You may recall, Helen worried about taking a tumble on her way up to the stage. She mentioned falling "tits over ass", a common British phrase. Calista Flockhart later presented with Mirren and said the phrase again in playful banter. NBC did air the show on a delay but chose not to censor the comment. The PTC released this statement, "It is utterly irresponsible and atrocious for NBC to air this vulgar language during the safe harbor time when millions of children were in the viewing audience." The FCC is reportedly trying to decifer its own rules to determine whether the offense is worthy of a fine.